By Erica Crompton
A stone’s throw from all the action at The Enchanted Forest and set on the fringes of Pitlochry’s lively-yet-quaint grey stone village, finding The Craigatin House & Courtyard is like discovering hidden treasure. Amid pine trees, red-spotted toadstools and a backdrop of Scotland’s most majestic mountains, lies this grey stone house for holiday-makers. A warm welcome awaits here, whether you choose to stay in a room within the house, or a home-from-home room in the courtyard as we did. All decked out in tartans with cosy cushions and kettle to hand, we were so comfortable on our annual stay in Scotland here. It doesn’t go unnoticed over our full-Scottish breakfasts, that tourists have travelled to this spot from as far as the Americas for a little Highland retreat. People talk here with all manner of enthusiastic accents and they wear warm walking gear. We used this cosy corner of Scotland to explore Pitlochry village and the nearby lochs. When we looked at the pictures we took on our phones, selfies took afoot the local lochs, Paul (my companion here) and I commented how it looked like we’d been photoshop’ed over screensavers! In the evening of our stay at the Craigatin House & Courtyard, we were spoilt for choice for places to eat nearby but in the end the Wee Choo Choo – a Thai restaurant set on a disused train – ticked all the boxes for authenticity. While a little on the expensive side, and a little tricky to access by wheelchair, the Wee Choo Choo was memorable and tasty. We’d walked the length of Pitlochry’s main stretch prior to this – about a 2 mile walk – to the local Blair Athol Distillery to stockpile on whisky for the evening. So after we ate we took our bottle of whisky back to the Craigatin for a wee dram (or several each, perhaps) and settled into the warm king bed for a restful night’s slumber under the inky Scottish skies.
- Book your stay today www.craigatinhouse.co.uk
